Here's To The Beginning Of It All
by Brookester27
Summary: Marriage doesn't take place in a fancy church or ballroom. It takes place in your heart. It's a choice that you make, not just on your wedding day, but over and over again.


"Korra, sweetie, it's time to wake up." A soft hand gently pushed her shoulder. "Korra, come on. Up."

Korra grumbled and rolled over, clutching the sheets even tighter around her shoulders. "Not now. Mornings are evil, don't you remember, 'Sami?"

"Sweetie, Asami isn't here, remember?" Korra blearily opened her eyes, squinting against the morning light. Her mother cheerily smiled down at her. "She's with Zhu Li, Opal, and Jinora in your apartment. You can't see your bride on your wedding day before the ceremony. Bad luck and all."

"S'dumb rule."

Senna laughed, then clapped her hands together. "Now come along!" She yanked the sheets off of her daughter. "Breakfast will be ready soon, and I expect you at the table in five minutes."

Korra let out a long groan that followed Senna through the sliding screen door and into the hall. She rolled herself back into the white sheets that her mother had so _rudely_ torn off and basked in the sunshine for a bit before throwing them off again. She stood from the stone bed and did a couple quick stretches to loosen up her muscles. Then Korra smelled breakfast cooking. She gave the air an extra whiff.

"Mmmm," she hummed. "Smells like waffles."

Senna watched as her twenty-four year old daughter tumbled down the hallway with her short, wild hair sticking up around her head, and wearing striped blue pajama bottoms that clashed with a red Future Industries tank top. For a fleeting moment, she instead saw the tiny three year old with her short wolf tails and bright blue eyes leaping into her chair at the dining table, pudgy fists immediately grabbing the chopsticks or fork left out for her. She blinked back tears. Her baby girl was all grown up.

"Mom! I smell waffles! Are they blueberry? Raspberry? Oh! Maybe chocolate!" Korra seated herself on a cushion at the low airbenders' table and snagged a fork.

"Actually," Senna said, picking up a platter stacked high with waffles, "I made some of each!" Korra let out a cheer as her mother set the platter down in front of her. She smacked her daughter's hand when she tried to reach for some. "Wait until everyone else gets here!" She turned back to transfer two more platters to the table, one with eggs and seal sausage and another with almond muffins and cranberry muesli.

"But, Mom! I actually got here first for once!" Korra argued, seeming much more like a toddler than a woman that was to be getting married later that day.

"They'll only be a minute."

Senna walked out of the dining room to avoid any other rebuttals that Korra could throw at her. Tonraq, Tenzin, Pema, the air children minus Jinora, Kya, Bumi, Lin, Mako, and Bolin were all perched in various places about the courtyard and talking amongst themselves. At the sight of Senna, the kids let out a cheer and rushed to be the first ones to the table, either to get the seats next to Korra or the seat closest to the platter of waffles. Bumi hustled after his brother's children, just as eager to get to breakfast. Tonraq wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and they followed behind the rest of the pack into the dining room. The kids had been so polite as to leave the seats on either side of their daughter unoccupied for them, though it may have been Tenzin's scolding that kept them away.

"I hope everyone is hungry!" Senna announced as she took the seat to Korra's right and Tonraq the one on the left. A chorus of cheers and "It smells so good, Senna!" answered.

Then everyone dug in. The airbenders went for the vegetarian platters, while everyone else targeted all three. Korra helped herself to one of each waffle, as well as a seal sausage and some muesli.

After breakfast was eaten and cleared out, Korra trounced back to her room to change while everyone else mingled. Mako was roped into playing a game of Pai Sho with Tonraq while Bolin and Ikki watched and urged the players on. It seemed as though Bolin copied Mako's fast style of play for the game while Tonraq took his time moving his pieces. In a manner of minutes, Tonraq had beaten the young detective. He leaned back in his seat with a smug grin and crossed his huge arms.

"Oh, I wanna go next!" Bolin said, pushing at his brother's shoulders so he could take his seat.

"Spoiler alert, Bo," Korra said as she came strolling into the living area, "he'll beat you in nearly thirty seconds."

Bolin puffed out his chest. "I seriously doubt that. I've improved since playing with Asami during our stakeout!"

Bolin lasted thirty-one seconds.

* * *

Asami, Opal, Jinora, and Zhu Li went out for breakfast at an all-you-can-eat pancake buffet. Zhu Li talked excitedly about a sensible idea that Varrick had come up with involving taking out the wires from telephones and carrying them around in your pocket. At this point they were struggling with coming up with a power source, but all four of them amiably thought up possible sources.

"I would suggest spirit vines, but we all know the trouble that comes along with those," Opal joked as she cut off a piece of pancake soaked in syrup and chocolate sauce.

"Maybe something that runs more like a Satomobile," Jinora started. "Satomobiles run on gas with an engine, so maybe a tiny handheld engine that runs on some sort of fuel? I can't imagine that people would like to pay for gas for a portable phone, though."

"Jinora, that's perfect," Zhu Li said. She pulled a small notebook and pen from a hidden pocket of her shirt and scribbled down the idea. She looked over the top of her glasses at Asami. "You could probably help draft a blueprint and the first model, if you would like? Varrick Global Industries is always happy to coordinate with Future Industries, after all."

Asami smiled, ideas already drifting through her mind. "Of course, Zhu Li! It will have to wait until _after_ the honeymoon, but I'm sure Korra will have to keep dragging me out of my head anyway."

"Where are you going for your honeymoon?" Opal asked. She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands, giving the Mrs. Sato To Be all of her attention.

"The Spirit World for a week before we go somewhere else, but Korra won't tell me where," said Asami.

"She probably doesn't know yet," Jinora said with a wink. The four women laughed.

"So are you excited for married life?" asked Zhu Li.

"We're basically already married." Asami tucked her hair behind her ear as she smiled. "We've already been through so much together, but I feel like this will be our next great adventure." Opal and Jinora cooed.

"I've wondered though, why aren't you getting married in one of the churches around the city? Or even in the Presidential Ballroom? I mean, I think President Raiko is over his grudges with Korra. Surely he'd allow you two to use his ballroom," Opal stated.

"I feel like the actual act of marriage doesn't take place in a fancy church or a ballroom," Asami said slowly, carefully mulling over her words. "It takes place in your heart. It's a choice that you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again. Korra and I have chosen to get married in Avatar Korra Park not just because Korra is just a little bit conceited -" the other three women laughed at that comment. "- but because it's a symbol of Korra's victories." Asami grinned cheekily. "It's also where we had our first official date." Opal and Jinora cooed once again, clasping their hands together and making a quiet squealing noise.

Opal threw her arms around Asami. "I'm so happy for you, 'Sami!"

Zhu Li glanced at the little clock she had strapped to her wrist - a "watch," she had called it. "We had better finish breakfast soon. We have five hours until go time."

"Five hours?!" Asami exclaimed. "Why would I need five hours?"

Jinora gave her a knowing look. "Oh, come on. I'm going to need at least an hour to do your hair, there's like a hundred feet of it." Asami scoffed. "And then you're going to do your makeup, which I'm sure takes you a long time. That uses up about two or so hours right there. Then you'll put your dress on and then you'll have a complete breakdown, ruining all your impeccable makeup. You'll redo it, taking up another hour, and then the rest of us have to get ready. That's about four hours at that point. For the fifth hour, we're using that for travel time to the park and generally calming down any anxieties you may have."

"You seem to have this all thought out," Asami commented.

"Well of course," said Opal. "It's only the biggest wedding in a hundred years."

"We really must be going if we would like to stick to the schedule," Zhu Li said as she cut off one last bite of a pancake.

The drive back to Asami's shared apartment with Korra went relatively swiftly due to Asami's general need for speed and weaving through traffic. Jinora ended up finishing Asami's hair in less than an hour, leaving Asami with plenty of time to observe the work of the seventeen year old. Her dark hair was pulled back over her left shoulder and was twisted into an elegant braid that she didn't recognize. Several small cherry blossoms were weaved into her hair to give it a lovely touch.

"It's a fishtail braid," Jinora said softly before Asami could ask. She finished tying it off and checked for any flyaways. "Gran Gran taught it to me a couple years ago."

"It's beautiful, Jinora. I love it," Asami murmured as she stared into the mirror, her tone reverent.

Opal came up behind the two. "Korra will love it."

"Korra loves everything about Asami," Jinora said with a roll of her eyes.

"That's not such a bad thing!" Asami defended her future wife. "I happen to quite like all the doting."

"And there will be a lot more doting in your future," Zhu Li commented, her reflection in the mirror popping up over Asami's shoulder. "Varrick just keeps getting softer with every year. I can almost get him to do the Thing himself now."

Asami could already feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She smiled at her friends. "Let's go get me married."

* * *

Korra stared into the body length mirror that was propped against a tent pole. She fiddled nervously with the ends of her bow tie. The dragonfly bunny spirits tumbling anxiously in her stomach made her fingers fumble with the thin material and kept her from effectively tying it. The tent flap moved to the side to allow Tonraq and Senna entrance.

"I thought that you would have learned to tie a tie by now," Tonraq commented gently, acknowledging his daughter's nervous state. He gently turned Korra around so he could finish tying her bow tie for her.

"Thanks, Dad," she said softly. She turned back to the mirror and smoothed down the lapels of her Water Tribe style suit jacket. It was very similar to the suit that her father wore on his wedding day, just without all of the ruffles and extra fur that seemed to be popular thirty years ago. Instead, a thin trim of white fur lined the lapels, and the customary Water Tribe patterns decorated all the seams of her jacket, making it very similar to the one that Varrick had worn for his wedding. Korra believed that she pulled it off far better though.

"You look great, sweetie," Senna said. She placed a hand over her mouth and fought back tears. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, Mom," Korra whined jokingly as her own eyes began to water, "please don't cry! You're going to make _me_ cry!"

Senna framed Korra's face with her hands and sniffled, dabbing away her daughter's tears before they could fall. "You take good care of Asami, okay?"

"Always," Korra replied without hesitation.

Tonraq rested a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Would you like to go check up on everyone with Zhu Li? I'll keep an eye on Korra." Senna rubbed Korra's biceps before stepping away and leaving the tent, the sound of sniffling following her out.

There was a moment of silence as Tonraq watched Korra fix her hair. She had pulled the top half of her short bob into an elegant, braided bun and left the rest down to frame her face. Korra then fussed with the sleeves of her suit jacket, smoothing down the already invisible crease lines.

"Korra," Tonraq tried to get her attention. Korra moved on to adjusting the blue suspenders she wore, despite the fact that they would remain hidden beneath her jacket during the ceremony. She then attempted to adjust her bow tie, but only managed to accidentally untie it. "Korra, honey." Tonraq gently swatted her jittering hands away to retie the tie. "It's alright to be nervous. I was a wreck before my wedding, too."

"But what if I mess everything up?" Korra asked self consciously. "What if I can't do this? What if I get halfway down the aisle and get cold feet?"

Tonraq nearly melted upon hearing his daughter's insecurities. "Korra, you and Asami are perfect for each other. It is completely normal to be anxious about the ceremony, but I promise that once it's over, you'll laugh about how ridiculous you were. After all, you've saved the world from total destruction at least a half a dozen times." He gave his daughter a one armed hug. "Plus you two are basically already married. This is just for you to steal her last name."

Korra laughed at his following wink as her confidence seemed to soar. Her usual smirk curved her lips and her blue eyes sparkled. She peered up at her father. "The world isn't ready for Mrs. Sato!"

"There you go," Tonraq said. "Go get 'em, tigerdillo!"

* * *

It was time.

Her hair was impeccable thanks to Jinora, Opal made sure that all of the guests had found their correct seats, and Zhu Li had everyone in position. Everything was going to run without a hitch.

Dragonfly bunny spirits buzzed relentlessly in Asami's stomach, but she merely chose to ignore them by instead focusing on the now - and her future. Her future lay just beyond the white tent flaps, through the small crowd of family and close friends, and within the little white gazebo where she would recite her vows with her beloved. She was so close to her life with Korra that she could nearly taste it.

Mako suddenly entered her tent, his hair combed neatly and looking very dashing in a black and maroon suit - sporting Asami's usual colors for her. He smiled at Asami.

"It's nearly time," he said. "You ready for this? You know this means you have to put up with Korra's little Avatar tantrums forever, right?"

Asami laughed, completely forgetting about her nerves. "I've never been more ready, though I wouldn't necessarily call them 'little.'"

"So," Mako began, "are you two going with just the betrothal necklace since that's a Water Tribe thing, or rings, or both?"

"Well, we agreed on just doing the necklace, but I still got her a ring because I couldn't help myself," Asami said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm sure Korra did the exact same thing though." Asami smiled as she thought about the entire ordeal of making that betrothal necklace.

* * *

 _She had it perfectly planned._

 _The reservation at Kwong's Cuisine with a table overlooking the spirit portal was booked, an evening stroll through Avatar Korra Park in mind, and rose petals and candles ready to be strewn about by Opal and Jinora once they left their apartment. At the perfect moment, whenever that may be, Asami would get down on one knee and present Korra with the necklace she had spent months fretting over._

 _The betrothal necklace was a lot harder to make than Asami would have originally believed. She had such grand ideas and she was intent on carrying them out, no matter how difficult it would be. The first obstacle she faced was finding a stone that met her impossible standards, one of which was to be a mix of red, blue, and purple. The blue to signify Korra's Water Tribe heritage, the red for Future Industries and Asami's Fire Nation heritage, and the purple to show the combining of the two forever._

 _Gardening and landscaping shops had no real stones that were a mix of the three, the only ones that she had found were plastic or oddly shaped. She only came to a solution after confiding in her struggle to Zhu Li.  
_ " _Well, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Zhu Li asked. "Varrick knows how to color metals without painting over them, and he could craft you something similar to what you're looking for." She held her hands up in a symbol of surrender at Asami's incredulous look. "Look, Asami. You're not going to find a natural stone that's a mix of three colors. Varrick could make you one out of platinum so no metalbender could mess with it, if you would like. Plus you could even say something incredibly cheesy like, 'It's unbendable, just like our bond' or something equally as gross that Korra is sure to love."_

" _I knew we were friends for a reason. Thank you, Zhu Li. I'll make it up to you somehow."_

 _She had her platinum "stone" within a week._

 _Etching the design into the metal wasn't as hard as Asami anticipated it to be. She thought that she would be carving it with a handtools, but with the metal stone she simply dialed back the power on a plasma cutter and cut the cog of Future Industries into the red half with the waves of the Water Tribe merging into it from the bottom blue half, with the purple streak running right where the two emblems met. It was perfect._

 _And Korra loved it, despite the fact that Asami went down on one knee after Korra got out of the shower, her short hair sticking every which way and just a towel covering her body._

 _Needless to say, they showed up to their reservation late._

* * *

The soft sound of the music beginning drifted into the tent. Asami swayed lightly to their favorite song, the highs and lows flowing seamlessly together. Then she heard the first cue - Korra would be walking down the aisle with her father now.

"It's time, Asami," Mako said quietly, holding out his arm for Asami to take. He had been deeply honored when Asami had asked him to give her away in her father's stead. Mako had become such a close friend that she knew that there was no one else she'd rather ask.

Then her cue came.

Together, Mako and Asami exited the tent, their steps slow and in sync. Asami could not help but to focus on Korra's back as she and Mako steadily made their way to the gazebo. She nearly missed taking in the sheer beauty of the park. The cherry blossom trees on either side of the gazebo were in full bloom, their bright pink buds swaying in the breeze. Tears pooled in her eyes but Asami forced herself to hold them back. She would _not_ mess up her makeup before she had even made it to the altar.

Tenzin's family and the air acolytes were seated in the first few rows of simple white seats. Asami smiled gently upon seeing Jinora and Opal dabbing at their faces with handkerchiefs. Across the aisle, Tonraq was doing his best to console Senna, though it was a losing battle. He eventually sat back in his seat and allowed his wife to continue her waterworks display. Lin had ditched her police uniform and was wearing a humble green dress. Asami was unsurprised to notice that the chief of police had a hand placed upon Kya's thigh.

Then she and Mako passed the last row of seats and were upon the gazebo. Asami's nerves came rushing back to her, but she steeled herself. Bolin shot her an excited smile, Pabu perched on his shoulder.

Asami went breathless when Korra turned to accept Mako handing her off. Korra's firm hand kept her from falling up the few steps into the gazebo. The suit looked amazing on her - it was tight in all the right places and was just so _Korra_ that Asami had difficulty thinking about why she had never requested for Korra to wear a suit before. Korra seemed to be enamoured with Asami's elegant lace dress as she couldn't take her eyes off of it nor wipe the goofy grin from her lips. Bolin cleared his throat to gain their attention. The two of them jumped, though Asami quickly turned back to Korra.

 _I love you,_ she mouthed. Korra blew back a kiss in response.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and dearest friends and family," Bolin began as Pabu chittered from atop his shoulder. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Avatar Korra to Miss Asami Sato." He paused to allow a short applause and for several noses to be blown. "True love is difficult to find, but Korra and Asami have proven to all that love can be found and kept in even the darkest of times. Today marks the beginning of their life full of happiness and love. And now for the vows!" He turned to Korra. "Korra, if you would begin."

Korra clasped both of Asami's hands in her own and stared into those peridot colored eyes that she had come to know and love. "First, I would like to start by saying that I love you, Asami. So much." Senna could be heard sniffling and blowing her nose yet again. "When I first started writing my vows, I had no clue as to what I could offer you. I could have promised to listen and learn from you, to support you, and to celebrate your triumphs and mourn your losses as though they were my own, but that's what marriage is - it's all of those things. But I have nothing to my name other than a fancy title that I was born into and a very large polar bear dog." Asami smiled as happy tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks. Korra reached out and wiped them away with the pads of her thumbs before continuing. "Then I realized that I could offer you a life of wonder filled with a love that so many people would risk everything for… So instead, I promise to keep that look of absolute wonder and love in your eyes forever, Asami, whether it be by frequent trips to the Spirit World or by attempting to cook dinner for you to come home to. I love you, and I promise to stay by your side until death claims us."

Bolin wiped his own tears away with Pabu's tail before turning to Asami. "Asami, you may now recite your vows."

"Well how am I supposed to top that?" Asami joked, drawing laughs from everyone that had gathered for the ceremony. "Becoming your wife has been my dream for a couple years now, but when it finally came down to it, I had difficulty coming up with the vows to perfectly describe our relationship. But ultimately, it all comes down to happiness and love." Korra gave Asami an encouraging smile and lightly squeezed her hands. "I promise to build a household with you filled with laughter, patience, understanding, and most importantly, love. I vow not just to grow old together, but to _grow_ together. We shall bear together whatever trouble and sorrow that life may lay upon us, and we shall share together whatever good and joyful things that life may bring us. Whatever comes, I will always be there for you, and I will always love you, Korra. Through the difficult and easy."

Bolin used Pabu's tail again, much to the ferret's chagrin. He cleared his throat once more. "Now, Rohan, if you would be so kind as to present the necklaces?" A seven year old Rohan stepped forward with a small cushion, upon which rested the necklaces. He smiled up at the two women before passing the cushion off to Bolin, who lightly ruffled his hair before sending him back to Pema. "Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe, do you take Asami Sato of Republic City and Future Industries as your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, through sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Korra smiled brightly as she squeezed Asami's hands once more. "I do." Bolin held out the cushion and allowed Korra to take the necklace that she had crafted for her wife. The necklace had a red stone carved with the same symbol that Asami had used on Korra's necklace. Once Korra had the black strap clipped securely around Asami's neck, she sneakily reached into her pants pocket and presented a ring with an unashamed grin. Asami laughed as she held out her left hand. The silver band was adorned with a small diamond and etched into the metal were small waves to remind her of just who she married.

Bolin then turned to Asami. "Asami Sato of Republic City and Future Industries, do you take Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe to love and to hold, through sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do," Asami said with no hesitation. She took Korra's necklace from Bolin's cushion, the metal glinting in the sunlight, and clipped it about Korra's neck. Before Bolin could pronounce them married, she slipped a ring from a hidden pocket in her dress and held it up between the two of them. Korra tossed her hair back and laughed - they had both broken their promise of just necklaces, but neither really cared. The two of them suspected that they would do both rings and necklaces anyway. Asami slipped the ring onto Korra's finger, the silver band and decently sized diamond catching the light.

"You bastard," Korra muttered, her eyes widening at the size of the diamond. "We should've stuck to just the necklaces." Asami chuckled as she admired the look of the ring on Korra's dark finger. She was just waiting for this evening to see Korra's reaction to what she had etched into the inside of the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bolin called out, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "I present to you, Mrs. and Mrs. Sato! You may now kiss the bride."

The crowd clapped and cheered excitedly as Korra tugged Asami close, dipped her elegantly, and passionately kissed her. Asami's hands came up to gently frame Korra's face as she kissed back, instigating several whoops and whistles from those gathered. When they finally straightened, they shared one more soft kiss before turning to face their guests with their hands intertwined. As one, they jumped down the steps of the gazebo and made their way down the aisle. Ikki and Meelo tossed cherry blossoms into the air as Opal and Jinora helped the blossoms float down the aisle with gentle puffs of airbending. Korra stopped and quickly kissed her mother's forehead before continuing on her way with Asami and the blossoms.

Asami tugged Korra to a stop at the end of the aisle. "Here's to beginning our life together, _Mrs. Sato_ ," she said.

Korra chuckled before pulling her wife into another kiss. "I can't wait, Mrs. Sato."

* * *

 **The inscription inside Korra's ring is "Baby, You're My Forever Girl."**

 **Thank you so much for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it!**


End file.
